essays, custom-made rants, crap, politics, current events, philosophy and other disordered thoughts.
M. Zachary
7.18.2008
a response to patsy gray 740am blog
“I agree completely to just let the market adjust itself instead of dictating and controlling it. Overall that is the best way to go. As I understand new technology, which is needed for shale oil extraction, is always expensive but the more it’s developed, the cheaper it becomes. Again, let the market adjust to technology needed to drill in shale country.” big D says
I do not think that drilling will ease our need for foreign oil in the short-to-medium term. This is clear from my posts and is reflected from a thorough reading of information on the ability of domestic oil sources to produce the 15 million barrels a day which would be needed to overcome the gap in supply. I furthermore think that even if you make available every oil lease there is, producers could not and would not utilize all available existing wells, nor explore everywhere possible at the same time. This means, in effect, that, like Juliane says, production takes time, and it’s ability to increase takes resources which are scarce. Granted, if we put ALL available muscle into this domestic drilling project, what energy will we have left to do the admittedly necessary work of shifting to alternative forms of energy, with full knowledge that we cannot fully rid ourselves of the need for petroleum. The question is, what should our priorities be in this situation? I think that we should, while letting the market do its work on adjusting demand for oil products used in transportation,(which it is already doing), we should put the majority of our skills to work on changing the way that people get around and conserving our current streams of energy supply. Conservation will be key, and the market is already providing outlets like GM’s new Volt, the plugin hybrids to be available in 09. I think also, as my earlier posts alluded to, that mass transit can and should be a large part of the equation. This, i think, is where the federal government could really help our cities and states by providing money for expanding the infrastructure needed to funnel them around. The interstate system expansion and improvements needed are a start, as would providing grants for cities with good plans to improve their mass transit systems. providing tax breaks to consumers who choose to buy a plugin or electric cars would be another, as this would gradually shift our oil dependency away from personal transport and squeeze it enough to level off fuel prices for those of us who must use a vehicle in our daily work. aside-i love classic cars and have a 50 model chevy, along with an old benz which uses biodiesel, but i realize that cars must change, and if you have a classic-you’d better keep it. they’ll never be like they were before again.
So, as you can see, i think the focus on drilling is misplaced, foolish and misguided. If we do some of these things that i mentioned, i think it will have a positive outcome in the context of the domestic economy, the environmental outlook and our thirst for foreign oil, which we all agree needs to come back into balance. the unlimited freedom to consume unwisely has its physical limits. this is what we are finding out, through the price of oil and other commodities. The market is telling us something. yes, darren, i too “I agree completely to just let the market adjust itself instead of dictating and controlling it. Overall that is the best way to go”(big D quote) i also think that we should listen to what it is trying to tell us.
“I agree completely to just let the market adjust itself instead of dictating and controlling it. Overall that is the best way to go. As I understand new technology, which is needed for shale oil extraction, is always expensive but the more it’s developed, the cheaper it becomes. Again, let the market adjust to technology needed to drill in shale country.” big D says
I do not think that drilling will ease our need for foreign oil in the short-to-medium term. This is clear from my posts and is reflected from a thorough reading of information on the ability of domestic oil sources to produce the 15 million barrels a day which would be needed to overcome the gap in supply. I furthermore think that even if you make available every oil lease there is, producers could not and would not utilize all available existing wells, nor explore everywhere possible at the same time. This means, in effect, that, like Juliane says, production takes time, and it’s ability to increase takes resources which are scarce. Granted, if we put ALL available muscle into this domestic drilling project, what energy will we have left to do the admittedly necessary work of shifting to alternative forms of energy, with full knowledge that we cannot fully rid ourselves of the need for petroleum. The question is, what should our priorities be in this situation? I think that we should, while letting the market do its work on adjusting demand for oil products used in transportation,(which it is already doing), we should put the majority of our skills to work on changing the way that people get around and conserving our current streams of energy supply. Conservation will be key, and the market is already providing outlets like GM’s new Volt, the plugin hybrids to be available in 09. I think also, as my earlier posts alluded to, that mass transit can and should be a large part of the equation. This, i think, is where the federal government could really help our cities and states by providing money for expanding the infrastructure needed to funnel them around. The interstate system expansion and improvements needed are a start, as would providing grants for cities with good plans to improve their mass transit systems. providing tax breaks to consumers who choose to buy a plugin or electric cars would be another, as this would gradually shift our oil dependency away from personal transport and squeeze it enough to level off fuel prices for those of us who must use a vehicle in our daily work. aside-i love classic cars and have a 50 model chevy, along with an old benz which uses biodiesel, but i realize that cars must change, and if you have a classic-you’d better keep it. they’ll never be like they were before again.
So, as you can see, i think the focus on drilling is misplaced, foolish and misguided. If we do some of these things that i mentioned, i think it will have a positive outcome in the context of the domestic economy, the environmental outlook and our thirst for foreign oil, which we all agree needs to come back into balance. the unlimited freedom to consume unwisely has its physical limits. this is what we are finding out, through the price of oil and other commodities. The market is telling us something. yes, darren, i too “I agree completely to just let the market adjust itself instead of dictating and controlling it. Overall that is the best way to go”(big D quote) i also think that we should listen to what it is trying to tell us.